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Candidates talk solutions for domestic violence in forum

The city's next mayor could be taking a new charge against domestic violence and sexual assault.

In a forum Thursday, several candidates spoke in strong support of the mayor's office spearheading a formalized advisory committee, which could play a part in bringing together key figures to help address those problems.

Frances Wilson, executive director of the Women's Shelter of South Texas, endorses the idea, saying the committee could include representatives from nonprofit agencies, law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as domestic violence survivors, who could work together to come up with recommendations.

"We talk a lot about having a prosperous community, we talk a lot about bringing new business," she said. "But no one wants to live in a community where they know people aren't protected and people aren't safe, and that the people in charge don't seem to see it as an issue and they're not being proactive about it."

Several candidates at the forum, hosted by the Coastal Bend Coordinated Community Response Coalition, said they were surprised there wasn't a mayor's committee on domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Former mayor Nelda Martinez said an informal task force that included law enforcement representatives was formed while she was still in office, and credited Police Chief Mike Markle with implementing improvements to the police department's handling of domestic violence cases.

The next step could be formalizing the committee, which should be "about accountability, about taking information we're learning and putting in best practices," she said.

James M. Hernandez, owner of Landmark Electric Co. and master electrician, said he would be interested in allocating funding to support a mayor's committee. He added that he would also be in support of a levying an extra tax on sexually oriented businesses, using the funding to raise awareness of domestic violence or aid victims of domestic violence.

Margareta Fratila, owner of European Floral Designs, said she envisioned herself, if elected, serving as a mediator of an advisory committee. The group, she said, would meet once per month and include in its members domestic violence victims, police officers and representatives from the women's shelter.

"It's education and knowledge because not everybody knows about domestic violence," Fratila said.

Reyaldo "Ray" Madrigal, a retired photographer, pinned a lot of the domestic violence problem on alcohol consumption, but said it would be integral for law enforcement to be included in a mayor's committee, suggesting officers are too slow to respond to domestic violence reports. He added that if he is elected mayor, he would endorse having "their reaction times recorded."

Joe McComb, an at-large councilman, described the mayor's office as a good "bully pulpit" that could facilitate such a committee, but would rely heavily on the advice of groups like the Coastal Bend Coordinated Community Response Coalition for the committee's composition.

"Education is important and spreading the word and I think if... the mayor's office is pushing this and helping promote awareness and education on it, then you're moving forward," he said.

The committee could likely have a model similar to the existing committee on veterans affairs, said Larry White, a retired chemical engineer.

He also said he would lean on experts — including the victims' advocates and police — for the best way to address the problem. He would be interested in the possibility of including on the committee a psychologist who was knowledgeable "on this cultural attitude or evil that we have in our society."

Jonathan Garison, assistant principal of Browne Middle School, and attorney Mark Di Carlo were unable to attend the forum because of conflicts with their work schedules.